Mechanism for holding and driving music-carrying rolls for mechanical musical instruments.



O. E. MERRILL. 1 MEGHANISM FOR HOLDING AND DRIVING MUSIC CARRYING ROLLS FOR MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

. APPLfCATION FILED AUG. 10, 1904. 920,075.

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C. E. MERRILL. MECHANISM FOR HOLDING AND DRIVING MUSIC CARRYING ROLLS FOR MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10, 1904. 920,075. Patented Apr. 27, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2 To-all whom it may concern:

UNITED isrnrns PATENroFFron.

CLYDIQ E. MERRILL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE AUIOPIANIST C O., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MECHANISM FOR HOLDING- AND DRIVING MUSIC-CARRYING ROLLS FOR IVIECHANICAL Musician INSTRUMENTS.

No. 920,075. I

Original application filed July 27, 1903, Serial Be it known that I, CLYDE E. IVIERRILL,.& citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mechanism for Holding andDrivin'g Music-Carrying Rolls for. Mechanical Musical Instruments, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to pneumatically.

i operated. musical instruments, and especially to such instruments as are operated by a g traveling music sheet passing over a trackerand also for driving said rolls in either direcal-plan viewof a tion as desired to move the music roll in opposite directions.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is spool-carrying and driving mechanism embo ying my present invention; Fig. '2 is an end view taken on line 22 in Fig. 1 Figs; 3 to 6 inclusive are views of details of construction.

1 Referring first to Fig. 1, 1 is a tracker board such as is commonly employed in pneumatic musical instruments such as mechanical piano players; and in front of it is the take-up spool 2 and behind it the rewind or re'roll spool 3.- The spools 2 and 3 are carried by a metal frame A consisting of a rear rod 4, uprights 4, 4,-side bars 5 and 6 and a front rod 7. -'This frame is arranged to slide tracker board, the music carriedby the rolls- 2 and 3 is shifted so as to secure perfect registration of the perforations in the music with the ports of the tracker board 1, andalso to shift the music perforationsrelativeiy tothe' tracker board ports so as to secure theplay- 'ing of the composition in a different key.-

This shifting movement of the. frame A is securedhy a thumb screw 10 whose threaded end 11' engages the upper end of one ofthe Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 27, 1909.

No. 167,210. Divided and this application filed August 10, 1904;. Serial No. 220,257. V

uprights i. The screw 10 is supported and held by a vertical wall or partition 12 which,

with a similar partition 13 on'the other side form a part ofthe frame of the piano player or other instrument, and are properly supported by other portions of the frame; and

also that the bearings 8 and 9, 9, are properly supported as for example by cross-pieces l4 and 15 respectively' A'motor l3- is arranged at one side of the v mechanism'previously described. This motor can be of any suitable or preferred type of pneumatic motor used in instruments of this kind. Ithas a rotary shaft 16 which is.

conveniently rotated by its pneumatic mechanism. Thisshaft carries a loose inion 17 and a loose s rocket wheel, 18. T e pihion 17 meshes wit a gear 19 carried by the spindie of thetake-up roll 2,and a sprocket chain 1 20 extends from the sprocket wheel 18 to and over a second sprocket wheel 21 on the spindle of the roll 3.. .Between the pinion ,17 and v sprocket wheel 18 is a clutch 22 which is are ranged to slide lengthwise of the shaft 16 and provided with a clutch or engaging members adapted to engage with similar members on the pinion 17' and sprocket 18. 22 is' fast to the shaft 16 for rotative pursaid shaft, so that said clutch is always rotated by the shaft. As an arrangement. for shifting the clutch 22 to engage either the pinion- 17 or s rocket 18, a sleeve 23 having poses, however, as for example bybeingae ranged to slide upona feather or spline on The clutch v a thumbwhee 24 is provided and is supplied with an arm 26 which engages the clutch 22 as shown in Fig.- 6.- Thus by turning the thumb wheel 24 theclutch 22 is thrown into engagement with either the pinion 17 .or

sprocket 18. g

The sleeve 23 is shown contammg a spindle 27 having a thumb wheel 28- and pro ing-a valve 34. This valve is situated in a The-motor B.,be'ing operated, so as to cause'.

the rotation of the shaft 16, and the perfo rated sheet of music being on'the' spool 3- and ready to be drawn across the tracker board and wound upon the take-up 's'pool' 2 the thumb wheel 24. istu'rned so as to throw the clutch 22 into engagement with the pinion 17 whereupon said pinion will be rotated theregear 19 and turning the spool 2 and driving the music across the by rotating the tracker board. Af'ter the -music is rolled upon the spool 2 and it is desired; to .reroll it upon the spool 3, the thumb wheel 24 is turned so as to throw the clutch 22 into ongagement with the. sprocket 18, whereupon said sprocket beturne'd and th'e'spool 3 rotated by means of the sprocket chain -so as to rewind the perforated sheet'upon'the' spool 3. When it is desired to'turn either e spools'2 or 3, the wheel 24 is turned so as to place the clutch 22 into position between,

' and out of engagement with, the pinion. 17

and sprocket 18.- When the wheel-1241's turned so asto cause the engagement of the clutches 22 and sprocket 18 to rewind the music sheet, the valve 34 is elevated by the sleeve 23 and intermediatemechanism, so as to close the passage controlled by said valve, and cause the air to be shut'ofi from the pneumatics or pneumatic action; and thereby prevent any playing or operation of the instrument while the music sheet is being drawn backwardly from thetracker board. d

' the same and the transverse end'members' of If it is desired to shiftv the music sheet relatively to the tracker board so as to secure proper registration or effect a change of key, this is done by turning the thumb wheellO in one direction or the otheras: required. This shifting movement can be secured either before the advance of the music sheet. over the tracker board has commenced, or during such advance movement. Itis permitted bythe pinion '17 being somewhat elongated to permit the gear 19 to slide along it, and by the fact that the sprocket chain 20 will take up or operate proper ly when the sprocket wheel 21 is shifted slightlyto one side or the other.

The thumb wheel 28 controls lthe mech anism for varyingthe motor speed, which is not shown or described herein.

It will be understood that changes and modifications can be made in the arrangement herein set forth, without departing from the spirit of the invention;-

This application is a division of an application filed July 27, 1903, in the name of Walter Lane, Martin Serial No. 167,210.

comprising side pieces, front and rear rods to-which the side pieces are secured, bearings for the front and rear 'ro'ds, holders .for

. 2-. The combination with a shifting frame .for; cairying 'the music spools, of side walls on the'inst'rument, said walls being arranged insideof the ends of the frame,- substantially as described. i 3. The combination of a shifting frame for carrying the music rolls having two ver- 'ticalends, vertical walls of partitions; on the musical" instrument, located inside of the "two vertical endsof the frame, bearings for the flame, and an adjusting device engaging "onejof said-walls and the frame, for shiftin the latter, substantially as described.

I 4. The combination of ashifting frame .for carrying the -music rolls, vertical side walls on, the instrument, located inside of- 1, The combination of a shifting. frame,-

Nystrom and myself, 7

the ends of said frame and provided with apertures for the spool holders and spindles,

bearings for'the upper and lower portions of the frame, and a threaded bolt engaging the frame and one of said side walls, for shifting the frame, substantially as. described.

5. The combination of a shifting frame for carrying the music rolls, said frame having transverse end members extending be tween the music rolls,-lwalls*fon;the instrument at the. ends ofthe'lrolls,-and 'between the frame, and means for shifting the frame, said means being extended from the frame to an accessible part of the instrument intermediate of said walls so as to be exposed to permit manual operation. I

6. The combination of a shifting frame,

bers extending between said spindles, walls on the mstrun1ent atthe: ends of the rolls and between the same and the transverse be exposed-for manual operation. In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 2d day of August A. D., 1.904.

v CLYDE E. MERRILL. Witnesses A. MILLER BELFIELD, J. 0:: LEE.

having two sets of spindles for two music rolls, and also having transverse end mem- 

